VIDEO: Red dresses in Duncan reminder cases still unsolved

The annual REDress display in Duncan on Feb. 10 offered once again a stark reminder to many Cowichan residents.

The empty clothing stand for lives cut short, with no closure for victims or families.

Red dress display

Indigenous women and girls in Canada are disproportionately affected by all forms of violence. Although they make up four per cent of Canada’s female population, 16 per cent of all women murdered in Canada between 1980 and 2012 were indigenous — an alarming over representation, according to Kendra Thomas of the Warmland Women’s Support Services Society.

On Saturday, the significance of the display was heightened when the first annual march held by Cowichan Tribes in honour of those murdered or still missing walked past the dresses at Charles Hoey Park.

Columbia Valley RCMP and search and rescue members from Columbia Valley, Golden, Cranbrook, Kimberley and Creston, and the Police Dog Service are currenlty searching for a missing Cranbrook woman in the Jumbo Pass area.